Harry Potter and the Divine Venom
by JustAnotherLoser
Summary: Set during OotP. The Cullens move to England and somehow discover Hogwarts on a hunting trip to Scotland. Dumbledore recruits them to protect Harry and his friends. But Harry doesn't want protection. He wants to be left alone. Anything could happen.
1. An Unexpected Arrival

**Well, this is my new fanfic. _Harry Potter and the Divine Venom._ I quite liked that choice of title. So, on with the chapter. Please read the note at the end! Enjoy :)**

**Harry**

The thought of going back to Hogwarts wasn't one that passed through Harry's head often these days. It was a cool summer's night in Little Whinging and Harry had managed to escape to the park. He came here a lot recently, to clear his mind of thoughts of his friends, Ron and Hermione; of seeing Cedric Diggory fall to the cold, hard ground, his eyes lifeless; of watching Lord Voldemort rise out of the smoke, powerful once more. It was all too much and he just wanted to be rid of those thoughts for only a few hours each day.

"What you doing here?" a very familiar voice grunted. Harry looked up to see his cousin Dudley towering over him. He stood up to his full height but still didn't come much past Dudley's shoulders. "Mummy told me to find you and say that it's dinnertime. And if you're not home in five minutes, then Mummy says she'll put your food in the bin." Dudley sniggered at that and his three cronies followed suit. Harry just shook it off. He was used to constant threats of no food or having to sleep outside, amongst other things. But none of them bothered him; not really.

Harry simply turned his back on Dudley and his cronies and started to walk home. He could hear Dudley's heavy footsteps behind him, so he started to walk faster. He barely noticed the sudden drop in temperature, or the dark clouds that swirled menacingly overhead.

The two teenaged boys reached a tunnel running under a railway when Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks. He could feel how dense the air was here, and how cold it was. Even Dudley felt something in the air but wasn't sure what exactly it was. He felt as though all the good was being drawn out of the world; he thought he would never be happy again. He could feel how awful he was; he was a bully, he was mean and brutal and a big _bully_.

Harry cursed under his breath. At the end of the tunnel were two large, shadowy figures. The reek of decay crept through the tunnel and Harry could feel the bile rising in his throat. He pulled his wand out of his back pocket and took two careful steps backwards to where Dudley was standing.

"Be very, very quiet Dudley. If they don't know you're there, then they can't hurt you. Think happy thoughts," Harry whispered to Dudley. He could see his breath in front of him.

"Wh-who's 'they'?" Dudley stuttered. Being a Muggle, Dudley couldn't see them.

"Dementors Dudley. Now stay there." Harry stepped forward, his wand at the ready, keeping his eyes fixed on the two looming figures in front of him.

Dudley was whimpering behind him, which was exactly what Harry didn't want. The second Dementor turned a cloaked head towards Dudley and began to draw a long, rattling breath. Harry didn't notice as the first Dementor silently glided over to him. He fell backwards and dropped his wand, just out of reach. He groped around for it but the Dementor had already begun sucking away his life force, his soul. He thought of seeing Ron and Hermione again; he pulled all the good thoughts to the front of his mind and that gave him just enough energy to reach out and grab his wand.

"Expecto Patronum!" the young, dark-haired boy shouted with all his might. A shining silver stag shot out of his wand and charged at the Dementors. They floated away into the night, leaving Harry and Dudley at peace.

He turned back to Dudley, who was now curled up on the floor in a pool of vomit. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see little old Mrs Figg, staring at the two boys.

"This is going to be a long night," Harry thought.

**The Cullens**

_Three weeks and six days after Dementor attack_

Moving to England had been a big leap for the Cullen family. The last time they had lived in England was when it was just Carlisle, Esme and Edward, in 1928. But people in Forks were beginning to question how they never looked a day older and moving out of the country meant they could start over, completely afresh.

Carlisle pulled the dustsheets off of the furniture, thankful he had sent someone to prepare the house before they arrived. The London town-house had belonged to his father back in the 1600s and it had taken some effort to convince the realtor that he was a 'descendant' of Benedict James Cullen. But here they were.

Edward and Bella came in, each carrying about five boxes.

"Where do you want these, Dad?" Edward asked.

_Upstairs please. _Carlisle thought of the room and they both flitted up the stairs. He could hear the soft thud of boxes being set down on the wooden floorboards.

Several hours later, after unpacking all the boxes, Carlisle called for a family meeting.

"I know it has been a long trip for us all, so I thought we would go on a decent hunting trip. I will let Renesmee choose where we go, because she is the youngest." Renesmee's face lit up as her grandfather said this. She pondered for a few seconds and then announced her decision to the family.

"I would like to go to Scotland. It may be quite a trek from London, but I hear they have a wolf problem up there," she said. Jacob feigned hurt and nudged Renesmee playfully.

The family arrived in Edinburgh about six hours later and set off running straight away. They soon arrived in a forest they had thought suitable for hunting.

"Okay, we'll meet back here in three hours," Carlisle told everyone. As soon as he had said that they all shot off in one direction or another. Jacob and Renesmee went together; then Alice and Jasper; next was Emmett and Rosalie; then Bella and Edward and finally Esme and Carlisle.

"This is fun. I've never been to England," Bella giggled while Edward tickled her.

"We're in Scotland, not England. But yes, it is fun. This is the second time I've lived in London. Carlisle only found out recently that his father's house was still in the family," Edward explained to Bella.

"Come on, I'll race you!" Bella teased. She took off and Edward followed the sound of her giggles. He almost ran into her as she stopped.

"What's wro-" he started to say until he followed Bella's gaze. In front of them was the most amazing building he had ever seen. It was even more impressive than the Volturi's 'palace'.

"Well this certainly wasn't on the map," Emmett chuckled from behind them. The whole family had gathered in front of the magnificent castle.

"Hey, you guys! I found the entrance!" Alice called from somewhere in the distance. The family followed her, arriving at a monstrous iron gate.

"What the hell - may as well try it!" Alice trilled, already climbing up the gate. She hopped down at the top and landed gracefully on the flagstones underneath.

"Alice, maybe we shouldn't. Don't you think we're…you know, trespassing?" Jasper muttered. However, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward and Bella were already halfway up the gate, so the others had to follow.

They walked up to the massive wooden door and Alice skipped forward and knocked on the door.

"_Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus_," Edward read the inscription above the door, "_Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon_. What a strange motto…"

A short balding man wearing incredibly scruffy clothes opened the door and a look of complete shock crossed his face. He composed himself quickly and was soon joined by a rather old man of considerable height, wearing velvety midnight blue robes. The man had silvery-white hair and a beard that almost reached the ground. He looked very powerful, despite his frail build and obvious time of life.

"Well, this is interesting…" the old man muttered to himself, "Why don't you come inside, and we can talk." The man seemed very welcoming, making the family want to follow him inside.

"Carlisle, I'm not sure about this. I'm not picking up any thoughts from him. At all," Edward whispered to his adoptive father.

"He doesn't feel hostile at all Edward. We'll be fine. Anyway, how can he hurt us?" Jasper replied in a low voice, picking up on their conversation.

"I suppose you're right."

Inside, the building was even more amazing. It didn't have the same flair as the Volturi buildings, but was magnificent nonetheless. Enormous stone archways could be seen down the extensive corridors. Intricately carved gargoyles stared down, watching your every move. They looked as though they could come alive if you just said the right words.

The Cullens followed the strange old man down one of the many corridors, up a flight of stairs, until finally they reached a massive stone gargoyle, shaped like an eagle.

The old man muttered something that sounded a lot like 'pepper imps' and suddenly the eagle gargoyle sprung to life. It began to turn, revealing a staircase, and the man walked up them. The Cullens followed.

At the top of the stairs was a large office, with floor to ceiling bookcases, all of them full. A wooden desk sat in the middle of the room, in front of a window that seemed to fill the back wall. Tables with spindly legs were dotted all around the room; each of them had some strange instrument on them. Many of the contraptions whirred or puffed smoke.

"Who are you?" Bella asked the old man, already thinking he was slightly crazy.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the headmaster at this school and…may I ask how you got past the gate?"

"We…climbed over it..." Edward replied, thinking that honesty would be best in this situation, "But we didn't know there was a school here. There was nothing on the map, and there was nothing saying there was a school in the area."

"You climbed over it, did you say?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring Edward's statement about the school. He didn't seem angry, merely inquisitive, "Well, we find ourselves in a rather odd predicament. Now, you see, this school is no ordinary school. This is a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." There was a long pause while everyone took in this information.

"You're kidding, aren't you? I mean, that stuff doesn't exist." Jacob scoffed, sounding less certain with each word.

"I think you of all people should know the answer to that, Jacob. After all, you're tribe's legends are based around 'that stuff'," Jasper retorted.

"But what's that got to do with how we got in? I don't mean to sound rude, I'm simply curious," Carlisle enquired. It seemed the same question, more or less, was going round everyone's heads.

"That gate is no normal gate. And this building is no normal building. Muggles, as if to say 'non-magic people', should not be able to see this building as it is. And they should certainly not be able to get past the gate. The gate blocks witches, wizards and Muggles alike. The only way you get past it is with my permission." Dumbledore's startlingly blue eyes seemed to be searching through each of the Cullen's souls, trying to find some hidden answer. "But you are not ordinary people are you? I notice how similar you all look," he looked at Renesmee and Jacob, "With the exception of the young lady and the rather tall boy."

_He knows what we are. What do we do? We'll have to kill him; to cover up our tracks, _Jasper thought to Edward. Edward shook his head a fraction, so only Jasper could see.

"That wouldn't be wise, if I were you. Yes, I know what you are, but you need not worry. You can trust me with your secret. After all, we are from the same world," Dumbledore chuckled, spreading his arms, as if welcoming the vampires into a family.

Edward suddenly burst out. "Wha-! How did you do that?... You- "

"Read young Jasper's mind. You have much to learn about the magical world Edward. Which is why I suggest you and your family join our school this year. Term starts tomorrow. I will make sure all will be sorted, do not worry." The family was rather taken aback by this stranger's proposal.

"Well, I suppose it means we won't have to worry about our not aging. I say we go to this school; try something new! Who's with me!" Alice chirped, ever the optimist.

"I," Jasper said.

"I," Carlisle offered.

"I", Esme said.

"I," Renesmee trilled.

"I," Jacob said, a bit more hesitant.

"I," Edward and Bella said at the same time, wanting to keep an eye on their daughter.

"I don't like this idea. It sounds dangerous," Rosalie huffed. Everyone stared at her as if she had some sort of slug growing out of her brain.

"Come on Rose. It'll be fun. Would you rather go to a school where you can do everything completely new, or a school where you already know half the stuff on the curriculum? And you said yourself you don't like having to move schools all the time. That wouldn't happen here. We'll finally fit in," Emmett persuaded, rubbing Rosalie's back.

Her dead heart softened, as usual, at Emmett's words and she knew she had made her mind up. "Okay, I'll go."

"Well, you know my answer already," Emmett boomed.

"We accept your offer Mr. Dumbledore," Carlisle informed. A small round of applause went round the room.

"Professor. Professor Dumbledore. As you are now members of the school, you shall call me Professor Dumbledore, or sir."

"Yes Professor," Emmett chuckled, causing Rosalie to hit him, at which point he shut up. A knock on the door brought everyone out of his or her thoughts.

"Come in, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore called out. The door opened and in came a tall woman in emerald green robes, with her hair pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head.

"Albus," she said in a strong Scottish accent, "I hear someone managed to break into Hogwarts."

She hadn't noticed the Cullens and Jacob yet but they were brought to her attention when Dumbledore said, "Yes, they did, but they meant no harm. I would like you to meet the Cullens." He gestured to the family, and they all smiled politely at the new lady.

"Professor McGonagall, I would like you to meet the Cullens. They will be attending Hogwarts this year, and if they consent, will hopefully be protecting Harry."

"Who's Harry?" Renesmee - who had been mostly quiet till now – asked.

"Harry is a fifteen year old boy who is very important to the wizarding world. He is the key to freeing us of Lord Voldemort, who I will tell you about later. But he is in more danger than ever right now, which is why he needs protecting. All you have to do is make sure he doesn't try and do anything reckless," – Bella and Edward flinched at this – "and that he stays safe. We would be forever grateful if you would do this," Dumbledore requested.

"If you agree, your nature will remain a secret, unless you wish to tell someone. I would advise, Carlisle, that you and your wife take up a teaching position."

The family thought about it for less than a second before they gave their answer.

"I don't see why not," Carlisle spoke for his family.

"But Albus, what makes this family any better than the Aurors, and the Order. He is already well protected. Any more protection and the Dark Lord would become suspicious," Professor McGonagall protested.

"Minerva, dear. This is no ordinary family. They are…vampires. Not the kind we have come across before. They are a whole different species. And they protect human life. They only drink animal blood," – McGonagall looked incredibly shocked at this information - "If anything, it would be a benefit having them on our side. They will be in the school. The Aurors can only do so much, and there are not enough members of the Order inside the school. No one will suspect anything." Minerva couldn't help but agree with this. Protection for Harry inside the school would be a lot more effective.

"You're not all related are you?" she said, turning to the Cullens, "After all, you're a rather large family."

"No. I adopted Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, Emmett and Edward. Esme is my wife. Bella came into the family when she married Edward, and Renesmee is their daughter. Jacob is Renesmee's partner. Bella, Renesmee and Edward are the only ones who are related," Carlisle explained, pointing to each member of the family as he went.

"I suppose you'll have to formulate different families if you want to be with your respective partners," Dumbledore mused. Everyone nodded in agreement and began to talk about it amongst themselves.

After several minutes of chatter, the Cullen family had come up with their plan.

Carlisle spoke. "Jacob, you will remain a Black. I haven't adopted you, but after your parents died you had nowhere else to go but your girlfriend's family. Rosalie and Jasper, you are still the Hale twins. Edward and Renesmee, you will be the Masens. You are brother and sister, due to your similar looks. Bella, Alice and Emmett, you are the Swans."

"Woo!" Emmett suddenly burst out, making most people jump, "Guess you're stuck with me, 'sis'," he said, nudging Bella.

"Oh, great," she replied, rolling her eyes. If Bella was stuck with him for a whole year, she might just die. "Why don't you annoy Alice for a change? She's your sister too."

Dumbledore showed them to their temporary rooms – not that most of them would be using them. "Supper will be at seven. I expect you all to be there," he informed them all, "First thing tomorrow we will be going to Diagon Alley to purchase your wands and other school supplies." He left the room, leaving everyone in silence.

"This is unbelievable. My whole view on things has changed after today. I mean, who knew, _who knew_, that magic really existed? It's amazing," Renesmee babbled, but nobody was really listening; they were all too busy trying to take it in themselves.

"Just try and get some sleep hun, we'll figure everything out tomorrow." This wouldn't be the first, or indeed last, time that Bella had said this to her daughter.

**So how was that? I will be trying to follow the original story line quite closely, but obviously some things may or may not happen because of the Cullens. It will probably be a mixture of book and film, but will mainly follow the book. I would appreciate it if in reviews you say more than just 'love it' or 'amazing story' or stuff like that. You can still say that, but tell me what's good about it, what's bad about it etc. I will be suggesting a song for each chapter of this story. It may be one I was listening to while I was writing the chapter, or just a song I like at the time. The song for this chapter is _Careful _by Paramore. Five (ish) reviews for chapter 2! :)**


	2. A New Journey Begins

**Well, here's chapter 2. Hope you enjoy :)**

Harry hadn't slept well that night. Images of his parents wove in and out of his dreams and it was all too real. His scar was constantly throbbing, and even though the pain was bearable, sometimes it got to be too much.

Everyone set off earlier than usual, to make up for the extra time that walking from Grimmauld Place would take. Nothing much happened on the way to the station, and that was just how Harry wanted it – quiet and uneventful.

* * *

><p>Her parents woke Renesmee up at some unspeakable hour in the morning. Dumbledore had told everyone to meet in the entrance hall and he would explain everything then.<p>

When they arrived downstairs, Dumbledore was already waiting for them. He looked them over, as if to make sure they were neat enough. Then he cleared his throat and began to speak. "I would like to introduce you to the groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. He will accompany you to Diagon Alley today, and then to Kings Cross Station, where you will get the train to school along with everyone else." Suddenly a giant of a man appeared in the doorway. He had to be at least eight feet tall and about the same width-wise. He had beetle-like eyes, with the rest of his face covered by a bushy mane of a beard. He was rather intimidating.

"Well, I 'spose we should head to Diagon Alley. Err, do you have the port-key Professor?" the man said, in a broad West-country accent. Dumbledore conjured up a small table, placed a chipped teapot on it, then tapped the teapot with what was presumably his wand.

"_Portus_," he murmured. The teapot glowed blue for a second, before returning to its original shade of brown. "On the count of three, you all place a finger on the teapot. And don't let go. One, two, three."

The Cullens all placed a finger on the teapot – Emmett rather rudely put his middle finger on it – and then they felt like they were spinning through nothing, and everything, at the same time. A few seconds later their feet touched solid ground. As they looked around themselves they were more and more amazed.

On every corner was a shop with something fascinating in the window. Brightly coloured banners hung from roofs or in windows. It was brilliant.

"You think it's amazin' now? You shoulda seen it a couple o' years ago. There weren't nearly as much worry goin' around. People were 'appy, they were. Now enough o' that. Let's go get yer wands, shall we?" The large man said.

"Excuse me, Mr…Hagrid? But why are people worried? What's happened?" Edward asked as politely as possible.

"You need not be concernin' yerselves about that right now. I'll tell you later, once we've got your supplies. We don't have long; yer train's leaving at eleven and it's eight already." Hagrid strode down the street, stopping in front of a massive white marble building.

"Ye'll get yer money 'ere. If you have some muggle money, you can exchange it. Don't expect yeh to have any wizard money," he told them.

The Cullens entered the building. Rosalie almost recoiled in disgust when she saw the goblins. There were goblins at every door and behind every desk. She ignored them however, and continued walking. Hagrid walked up to a free desk.

"These guys need a vault. I have a letter from Albus Dumbledore about it. And they need to exchange Muggle money," he informed the squat goblin behind the desk. The goblin peered down his long nose at the Cullens and simply asked them how much they wished to exchange.

Carlisle told the goblin that he wanted to exchange five-hundred and twenty pounds, sixty-one pence, earning a strange look from the goblin.

"The money will be transferred to your vault immediately. I will call a goblin to assist you to your vault now," the goblin said in a nasal voice. Shortly afterwards another goblin, whose name was Bangnod, joined them and assisted them to a small cart. Amazingly, everyone managed to fit in the cart and soon they were speeding down the tracks. They went quite deep, but obviously not as deep as it could go.

Bangnod took out a ring of keys and inserted each of them into the locks on the door. It seemed pretty high security, and the Cullens wondered what the really high security vaults would be like. The goblin pulled the door open, to reveal a vault full of gold, silver and bronze coins. The goblin gave Carlisle a bag to put the money in.

"The gold ones are Galleons; silver ones are Sickles; bronze ones are Knuts. Seventeen Sickles to a Galleon, twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle. Take what you need and then we best be buying your supplies," Hagrid said.

After they had collected their money, the Cullens headed to Ollivander's. Hagrid looked rather confused when he saw Carlisle carrying the heavy bag of coins as if it weighed nothing at all.

Hagrid left them at Ollivander's, telling them that he would meet them in Madam Malkin's in an hour. After he had left, an old man appeared from between two shelves.

"I expect you would be wanting wands," he whispered. The Cullens assumed he was Mr. Ollivander, and simply nodded. "Well, let me see what I have."

It took at least an hour to get the right wands for everyone. They rushed to Madam Malkin's to get their robes fitted, but luckily Hagrid wasn't there yet. He arrived about five minutes later.

"Oh gosh. You need Hogwarts uniforms? You should have been in here weeks ago dears!" the squat witch said in response to the Cullens telling her they needed seven uniforms. Edward nodded rather sheepishly. Madam Malkin began bustling around the room, finding all her necessary tools and materials. "Well, we should get straight to it. You, come up here," she said, pointing to Edward. He followed her orders and stood on the raised podium. She measured him, jotted the measurements down and continued this way until the last person had been fitted.

She told the family to come back in half an hour, which gave them time to buy books. After rushing around trying to find the correct titles and collecting their uniforms, the Cullens followed Hagrid to the apothecary to buy potions ingredients.

By the time all this had been done, they still had plenty of time to walk to Kings Cross, and stop to buy clothes along the way. Alice was under strict instruction to not go wild. She had plenty of time to do that later on, when they weren't under such a tight schedule.

They arrived at the station in good time, with their newly bought trunks now packed so tightly it would be impossible to put anything else in.

"Right, well this is it. I better be off," Hagrid said, glancing at his watch. He handed everyone their tickets and was gone before anyone could ask any questions.

"Well that doesn't make any sense," Alice said, examining her ticket thoroughly, "How can there be a Platform 9 ¾?" She looked around for any sign of another platform, but her search was fruitless.

A woman with wild red hair noticed their confusion and pushed her trolley over to them.

"Are you looking for Platform 9 ¾ dears? Don't worry, it can be confusing your first time." She gave Bella a smile and showed them what to do. "You just need to run at that wall right there. A good strong run, and you'll go straight through. I'll follow behind. Go on." She pushed Bella forward slightly.

Bella hesitated for a second. She didn't want to run at a brick wall. She was more worried about damaging the wall than herself. But then she ran. What was the worst that could happen? Surprisingly, she ended up on the other side of the wall. Only it was a different other side of the wall. There were crowds of people, all with trunks, saying goodbye to their parents. Nobody seemed to notice her come through, so she shrunk to one side, not wanting to draw attention.

Edward followed shortly after, creeping up behind Bella. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the neck.

"Stop," Bella giggled, "Not here, there are too many people." He pulled his lips away, but his arms remained around her waist. The rest of the family appeared behind them and they waited for the kind lady to come through.

"See, that wasn't too bad. I hope you have a good year at Hogwarts. What year will you be in?" she asked Bella.

"I'll be in fifth year."

"Oh, so you should meet my son Ronald. I need to go see my children. Good luck," she said with a smile, before running off into the crowd.

"Well, Esme and I need to go to the staff carriage. We'll see you at the feast," Carlisle told his family. He and Esme would be the only staff on board the train, meaning they would have a carriage alone. Carlisle was thankful for that. It would give them time to acclimatize.

"Okay," Alice replied.

The remaining family took up a whole compartment, with Alice sitting on Jasper's lap, so no one would bother them with asking if there was any room.

"So I'll be in fourth year on my own?" Renesmee asked, sounding disappointed.

"Yes. I'll be in fifth year with Jacob, Jasper, Alice and your father. Emmett and Rosalie will be in sixth year," Bella told her daughter. The family sat in silence for most of the journey. The only sound was Jacob stuffing his face with pumpkin pies from the sweets trolley. Renesmee and Rosalie looked on in disgust as he continued to eat.

"Do you _ever _stop _eating_?" Renesmee hissed, slapping him with her heaviest book, which she was desperately trying to memorize, so she wouldn't be too behind.

"Ow! Whyjadovat?" Jacob moaned, halfway through a mouthful of food. Flecks of food sprayed in every direction, causing Rosalie to shy away in disgust.

"Because you never stop eating!"

Jacob swallowed his food so he could speak. "It's just my nature Ness. If you're gonna be in love with me you need to come to terms with the fact that I'm an eating, sleeping, loving machine," he said, puckering his lips and leaning in for a kiss. Renesmee hit his head. "You're a butthead Jake. Go away."

"We should probably change into our uniforms. The train will be arriving in Hogsmeade soon," Alice stated. She changed in a flash, just like everyone else. "I have to say, Hogwarts needs to rethink their uniform. They are _so_ not stylish." The small compartment erupted with laughter while Alice sat there blinking. "What did I say?" This just made everyone laugh more.

"If you don't stop laughing Emmett I will make you wear girls' clothes for the rest of the year," Alice threatened. Something about the way she said it just made Emmett laugh more. But then she gave him a death glare and he shut up immediately.

The train started to slow down, so they knew they were nearly at the station. They each grabbed their bags, ready to get off the train. The train arrived in Hogsmeade and there was a rush as everyone on the train tried to get off. Luckily the Cullens were near a door and, with their enhanced speed, were able to get off first.

Edward knew which way to go immediately, so the others followed him. They noticed carriages, and were vaguely aware of the strange horses pulling them, but decided to run to the gate. It would be a lot quicker.

They arrived at the gate about five minutes ahead of everyone else. The small teacher at the gate was slightly surprised to see them there so early, but took their names anyway.

"Jacob Black."

"Renesmee Masen."

"Edward Masen."

"Bella Swan." It felt strange for Bella to be using her maiden name again.

"Rosalie Hale."

"Emmett Swan."

"Jasper Hale."

"Alice Swan."

The teacher let them through the gate, where they would collect their trunks. As expected, their trunks were all there waiting. They walked into the Entrance Hall, and waited there for Professor McGonagall.

**Please review! Maybe 5 reviews for chapter 3? Song for this chapter is _I Don't Know _by Lostprophets :)**


	3. The Sorting

**Here's chapter 3! :)**

A line of children began to grow behind the Cullen clan. The children were all too excited and nervous to notice eight older students at the front of the line. Professor McGonagall, the stern Scottish witch from the day before, joined them once all the first years had arrived.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, "The start-of-term feast will begin soon, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."

She paused for a second before continuing. "The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points."

"At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She glanced at the Cullens, who were probably the neatest of them all, and a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. "I will return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

"Houses? No-one said anything about houses!" Alice squeaked. She didn't want to be separated from her family. Neither did anyone else by the looks of it. She glanced over at Jasper, hoping they would be put in the same house.

McGonagall returned about a minute later and motioned for everyone to follow her. The first thing most people thought about was the candles. It was quite eerie the way they floated above them all, with the night sky as a glistening, shadowy backdrop.

The usual hubbub just before the Sorting suddenly stopped. Everyone was silent. Harry reached for his wand, thinking that something bad was about to happen, but then he followed Ron's stare. He only just stopped his jaw from dropping. The people coming through the entrance to the hall were possibly the most beautiful he had ever seen. Then he noticed the boy at the front.

"Cedric?" he whispered to himself. It wasn't possible for Cedric to be alive, was it? He had seen his murder. That very image had plagued his mind, infected his dreams for weeks afterwards. But as he looked closer at the boy at the front, he realised it couldn't be Cedric. This boy looked all wrong. His hair was too red, his skin too pale. His eyes weren't right either. Instead of Cedric's dull grey eyes, even Harry could see from a distance that they were a brilliant gold.

He studied the rest of the beautiful people and noticed that they too had pale skin and golden eyes.

"How strange," Harry muttered to himself, looking away. Most of the boys in the room were still staring, including Ron. Hermione nudged him and he looked away but was soon staring at them again.

Professor McGonagall told the new students that she would read their names out one-by-one, and that they were to come up when she read their name.

The Sorting hat was placed on its stool and opened its 'mouth', to begin its song.

"In times of old when I was new

And Hogwarts barely started

The Founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted:

nited by a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

"Together we will build and teach!"

The Four good friends decided

And never did they dream that they

Might someday be divided,

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there and so can tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry is purest.'

Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest.'

Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name,'

Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,

And treat them just the same.'

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light,

For each of the four founders had

A House in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning, just like him,

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor,

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,

And taught them all she knew,

Thus the Houses and their founders

Retained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

For several happy years,

But the discord crept among us

Feeding on our faults and fears.

The Houses that, like pillars four,

Had once held up our school,

Now turned upon each other and,

Divided, sought to rule.

And for a while it seemed the school

Must meet an early end,

What with dueling and with fighting

And the clash of friend on friend

And at last there came a morning

When old Slytherin departed

And though the fighting then died out

He left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four

Were whittled down to three

Have the Houses been united

And they once were meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here

And you all know the score:

I sort you into Houses

Because that is what I'm for,

But this year I'll go further,

Listen closely to my song:

Though condemned I am to split you

Still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfill my duty

And must quarter every year

Still I wonder whether sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you…

Let the sorting now begin.

Harry thought it was strange, for the Sorting Hat to be saying that. It was the first time – that he could remember – that the applause afterwards had been studded with mutters and whispers of confusion. Meanwhile the Cullens listened to the Sorting Hat's song in amazement. It was very inspiring. Then they waited for McGonagall to call out names.

"Abercrombie, Euan," she called out. A small boy with large ears walked up to the stool, sat down, and placed the hat on his head. It thought for a few seconds, before shouting Gryffindor.

More names were called out.

"Black, Jacob." A freakishly tall boy with tan skin walked up to the stool and sat down. He seemed to be with the beautiful people. He looked incredibly awkward sat on the tiny stool and refused to look up when the hat was placed on his head.

"Hufflepuff," the hat announced. Several of the Hufflepuff girls clapped when this was said, then the whole table erupted into applause. Jacob went and sat down with some of the fifth year boys, who immediately pelted him with questions.

More names.

Then, "Hale, Jasper." One of the pale skinned students walked up. He was lean and had shaggy blond hair. The hat put him in Ravenclaw and the girls here were considerably more pleased. He sat down, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hale, Rosalie." A beautiful (the most beautiful of the pale skinned newcomers) blonde girl walked up. The way she walked seemed to put most of the males in the room in some sort of trance. Harry could almost hear Ron's jaw fall open. She looked like she really didn't want to be here, and gingerly picked the hat up.

It considered putting her in Gryffindor, but settled on Slytherin. Draco Malfoy offered a seat next to him, but Rosalie declined and said she'd rather sit with a toad. She didn't want to mingle with him, sensing immediately that he was the womanizing type.

Still more names.

"Masen, Edward." So this was the boy who looked like Cedric. Harry could hear girls murmuring through the whole room, each of them hoping that Edward would be put in their house. He could also hear Malfoy practically shouting "Oh, I thought it was another Weasley. The hair, you see." Ron also heard this, and spun round in his seat to give Malfoy a death glare.

Harry could immediately tell that this boy would be in Gryffindor. Everything about him screamed bravery, courage, fearlessness. As expected, the hat put him in Gryffindor. There was a mutual sigh of disappointment on every table except Gryffindor. Edward came and sat slightly opposite Harry. He would introduce himself once the Sorting was over.

"Masen, Renesmee." Harry could see Edward smile at the girl's name, and assumed they had a good sibling relationship. She was also put in Gryffindor and came and sat next to her 'brother'.

Even more names. Harry was beginning to wonder if this sorting would ever end.

"Swan, Bella." Another of the pale skins walked up. She had long, wavy brown hair and looked extremely shy.

The hat took particular interest in this girl. "Had an interesting past, have we? A struggling romance, torn between two men. Forced to choose between your father and the man you loved. Your…boyfriend may say you're selfless, but you're about as selfish as they can get. You toyed with a boy's heart and used him to your advantage. You risked your family so you could get what you wanted. I should put you in Slytherin. No? You don't want to be in Slytherin? Why not? You wouldn't need to worry about hiding your past there. Whatever's left of your blackened heart can be thrown away. Oh, all right. Gryffindor it is."

Bella looked on the verge of tears by the time the hat had finished. She was shaking violently as she rushed to the Gryffindor table. Edward wrapped his arms around her, whispering in her ear. Harry wondered what could have happened in her past, what she had done, for the hat to say something like that.

Harry could see Jacob staring at Bella, his jaw set, eyes void of any emotion. She was whispering things to herself and Harry felt the need to help this girl.

The next name brought Harry back to the real world. "Swan, Mary Alice." A petite, pixie-like girl with short, spiky black hair skipped up to the stool. The hat put her in Ravenclaw and she sat down beside the blond boy from earlier.

"Swan, Emmett." The last pale skin sat down on the stool. He had black hair and extremely large muscles. The hat put him in Slytherin and Harry choked back a laugh when he saw the look on Malfoy's face. Emmett was obviously not the sort of person you mess with. Emmett sat next to Rose, making it as clear as possible that she was his. Malfoy had a look of utter horror and disgust at the fact that Rosalie, the most amazing woman he had ever seen, would be with someone like Emmett.

There was a silence as Dumbledore rose to his feet, ready to address the students. "Hello everyone, and welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. To our new students, I hope you enjoy your time here. To students returning, may this year be as good as the others. As some of you may be aware, something terrible happened at the end of last year, and I will bring your attention to that later. But first, I have a few announcements to make.

"Joining us this year, in fourth, fifth and sixth year, we have an adopted family from America. In fourth year we have Renesmee and Alice. In fifth year, Jasper, Edward, Jacob and Isabella. I hope you all make them feel very welcome here. They are not as advanced as some of you may be, so please help them to understand if they need help.

"And for new members of staff. Professor Esme Cullen and Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the parents of the new students, will be present. Esme will be joining Professor Burbage as a Muggle Studies teacher. Carlisle will be assisting Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. And finally, may I introduce you to Professor Dolores Umbridge, from the Ministry of Magic, who will be teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts." A toad like woman stood up and walked to the front of the hall. She was wearing a hideous amount of pink clothing – so much so that she resembled a toad that had had an accident with colour changing ink.

"Ehem," she squeaked, in a sickly sweet voice, "I am Dolores Umbridge. Now as you all know, there have been _rumours _that a certain dark wizard is once again at large. These are _not _true. You have no reason to believe you are in any danger. This year, I want us all to be friends. I want to be your friend, and to do that, we will have no unnecessary thoughts of bad things."

"She's absolutely foul," Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron, snorting in disgust. Umbridge continued with her speech, but most people blocked her out. There wasn't much point listening to lies and unimportant facts. After her epic speech was over, Dumbledore said his usual words to announce the start of the feast. Food appeared on each of the five long tables and Ron's eyes grew with longing as he seized a plate of food.

Hermione though it would be polite to introduce themselves to the three new people sitting opposite them. "Hello, I'm Hermione," she said to Bella with a smile.

"I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you." Hermione was astounded at how flawless Bella's voice was. It was like tinkling bells , swirling into milk and honey . She had never heard anything so beautiful. Hermione nudged Harry and Ron, prompting them to introduce themselves. When she noticed that Ron had a mouthful of food, she decided to do it for him. "This is Ronald. He does stop eating…sometimes."

"We know someone a bit like that. He had to go fall in love with my sister though," Edward said. Harry gave him a harsh glare. He didn't even know the boy, but already Harry disliked Edward. He didn't want to be reminded of Cedric. Edward noticed this, but pretended he didn't see anything. "I'm Edward, this is my sister, Renesmee," he pointed to the red headed girl on one side of him.

Suddenly, a silvery figure emerged from the table.

"Nick! It's good to see you again. How was your summer?" The ghost-like figure floated to the empty space next to Ron, humming a quiet tune. Bella was quite shocked, seeing this sort of person.

"Oh, it was…uneventful. One could even say…dead," Nick chuckled, "Once again, I was not allowed in the Headless Hunt. Every year. You'd think I would've learnt something by now."

"Excuse me, but, I'm not surprised you wouldn't be accepted into the _Headless _Hunt. It's quite clear your head is still attached to your body." A know-it-all as well. Something else to remind Harry of Cedric.

"So quick to come to conclusions, my dear boy. You see, I am _nearly _headless." With that, he pulled on his head, revealing the greyish 'flesh' of the inside of his neck. All that held his head on was a thin sliver of skin. Renesmee recoiled in disgust, while the Gryffindor trio simply laughed. "That's why they call me Nearly Headless Nick. I'm the Gryffindor ghost. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh so you are a ghost."

"Well yes. I'm certainly not anything else!"

Harry became aware of Ron and Hermione bickering over something, which he had got rather tired of. Instead of listening to their argument, he decided to simply eat his food. He noticed that none of the new family, apart from Jacob and Renesmee, were eating much of their food. He thought it was slightly strange, considering they'd been travelling all day, and the food on the train wasn't exactly the most filling.

Suddenly there was a great clattering and banging, informing Harry that Dumbledore had just dismissed everyone.

"Ron, we're supposed to show the first years where to go!" Hermione said, looking slightly flustered. Ron, who had obviously forgotten all about that, mumbled something, then shouted towards the first years, " Hey – hey, you lot! Midgets!" Hermione slapped him on the arm and he muttered about the fact that they _were_incredibly tiny.

"You should probably follow as well," Hermione told Edward, Bella and Renesmee. They nodded politely, leaving Harry behind. They soon reached a portrait of a fat lady in a pink satin dress. Hermione addressed the portrait with 'Mimbulus Mimbletonia' and it sprung to life. Behind the portrait was a door leading into an amazing circular room. Armchairs, tables and beanbags were dotted around the room, with a cosy fire crackling away in the grate.

Bella, Edward and Renesmee were quite looking forward to this school year. Harry, however, was not. Not with all the stares and constant whispers and rumours. How was he supposed to enjoy himself with that happening? People thought he was crazy. Of course they would. He appeared from the Triwizard maze clutching the dead body of another student, screaming that Lord Voldemort was back. Why should he expect anything different?

Bella followed Hermione up to the girls' dormitories, with Renesmee tagging behind. Edward followed Harry up the stairs to the boys' rooms, where there were already two boys unpacking their trunks. As soon as Harry pushed open the door the two other boys went silent. Edward, knowing exactly what would result from this, silently unpacked his own trunk, pretending not to be listening. However, he couldn't help but eavesdrop on the argument. Seamus, an Irish boy, was explaining that his mother didn't want him to come back to Hogwarts. Harry got rather angry about why Seamus' mother had said such a thing. Harry began to pull the hangings around his bed, but Seamus asked him about a boy called Cedric Diggory. They both shouted things at each other, but then Ron came in, putting an end to the quarrel.

Edward was quite taken aback by the argument, but didn't show it. The rest of the boys had already gotten into bed, so he did the same. Nobody had noticed he was there yet and he was thankful for that. After checking that everyone was asleep, he made his way down to the common room, where Bella was already waiting for him.

**Hopefully that wasn't too bad. I realised that I made a bit of a mistake in the last chapter, bringing Hagrid in. Just pretend that he hasn't gone off on his 'trip' yet, or that another member of staff took them. And just to let you know, before you start going off on me, I will be using quotes from the original stories. Song for this chapter is _Everlong _by Foo Fighters. 10 reviews for chapter 4?**


	4. There's A First For Everything

**So so so sorry for not updating at all in the past 6 months! (God, that long D:) It's for no reason other than that I wasn't in the mood to write. Everything just turned out awful. I hope this chapter will redeem me though...**

The next morning, the first thing Harry noticed was that Edward wasn't in the room.

"He's an early riser," Ron muttered, noticing Edward's absence as well. They got dressed and headed into the common room to meet Hermione and head down to breakfast.

As they were strolling down one of the corridors to the Great Hall, Hermione noticed the back of Bella's head bobbing in front of them.

"I'll see you guys in breakfast," said Hermione to Harry and Ron. She ran up to Bella, soon walking in step with her.

"Hey Bella, I didn't see you this morning. I was wondering where you went."

"Oh, hi Hermione. I um, I promised I'd meet Edward for breakfast first thing. He said he wanted to be on time to first lessons. You know, making a good first impression and all."

"Oh, well, I suppose. Do you want to sit with us?" Hermione had found she rather liked Bella and wanted to try and become good friends with her. Especially after what Dumbledore had been saying. Friendships needed to be stronger than ever now that You Know Who was back.

"Sure, we'd love to," Bella replied, grinning at Hermione.

Harry and Ron had now caught up with the two girls and were surprised to see them getting on so well already.

"Hi Harry," Edward said, snaking his hand through Bella's.

"Hi," Harry returned gruffly. They made their way over to the Gryffindor table. Hermione sat down and Bella seated herself beside her. Harry, Ron and Edward sat opposite the two girls. Harry wasn't particularly pleased that he had to sit next to Edward.

Suddenly, the pixie like girl from the night before sprang up behind Edward.

"Hey big bro, what you got first thing then?" she trilled. Ron almost started choking on his pumpkin juice from trying to contain his laughter. Edward knew she already knew what his answer would be, but trying to keep up with appearances, he responded to her question.

"I've got History of Magic," he said loud enough for humans to hear, then, low enough so that only Alice could hear, "If only I could fall asleep." She chuckled at this, earning a few strange looks, and another choking fit from Ron, who seemed to be finding everything about Alice hilarious.

"Well, I'll see you then!" With that, the petite girl skipped away, pretending she didn't notice the many boys staring after her with their mouths wide open. Alice knew she was attractive, but nowhere near as attractive as Rosalie. Rosalie was the golden member of the family – everyone wanted her, or to be like her. She was gorgeous on the outside but on the inside she was a complete bitch. If people had to live with her they'd never want to be near Rosalie again.

This was one of those moments when Edward, Bella, Jasper and Alice wished they could sleep. The vampires found themselves jealous of Jacob, who was luckily able to fall asleep. He drifted off within half an hour of Professor Binns commencing his lecture. It seemed the rest of the class had the same idea, as most people were either dozing off or paying no attention to the class, playing games or passing notes instead.

However the professor continued his lesson, not seeming to notice that only a handful of people were actually vaguely capable of paying any attention. At the end of the lesson everyone filed out of the classroom, desperate for some fresh air. Bella and Edward noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione arguing – well, more Ron and Hermione than Harry, but she seemed to be angry with Harry too. The small quarrel ended quickly and the two vampires were thankful that they wouldn't have to step in to help. Still, they hovered near the trio, huddled under a dripping balcony.

"They're interesting. I've never been friends with anyone like they are with each other. They're more like siblings than friends," Bella whispered to her husband. She linked hands with him and they slowly strolled over to the three teenagers. A pretty Asian girl approached Harry, so Bella and Edward hung back slightly, the latter knowing that she wanted to ask the bespectacled boy something.

He chuckled at Harry's thought pattern – it was rather erratic and he seemed, well, embarrassed at the sight of this girl. Images of an earlier confrontation swirled through his mind – he was covered in some thick green substance, clearly not enjoying the fact that the girl had to see him like this.

"You got that stuff off, then?" the girl, called Cho, asked. Harry grinned as if he didn't even mind that she'd seen him covered in Stinksap.

"Yeah," he said, "So, did you…err…have a good summer?" There was a sudden awkward silence as Harry said this and Edward chose just the wrong time to show up. Cho saw him before Harry did and her face collapsed in pain. She ran off with tears streaming down her face, her sobs filling the corridors.

"Great timing you _idiot_. Go ahead and ruin everyone else's day while you're at it," Harry hissed at Edward. With that, the dark haired boy stalked off down the corridor to Potions.

"Don't worry about him Edward. I don't know what's wrong with him at the moment. He's been weird since before school even started. I'll try and talk to him and persuade him to lay off you a bit," Hermione muttered to Edward. She honestly didn't know what Harry had against the boy – he was polite, well mannered, smart, but not overly arrogant to go with it. If it was because he reminded him of Cedric, then he was just being silly and immature. It was no reason to be so rude to him.

Nevertheless, the group of teenagers made their way down to the dungeons – where their potions classroom was. Jasper, Alice and Jacob, not being in Gryffindor, had gone off to their separate lessons. Edward and Bella sat along from Ron, Harry and Hermione, who had seated themselves at a table at the back of the room.

Not long after they had found their seats, the door creaked open and a tall, sallow skinned man with limp, greasy black hair, wearing long dark robes stepped through almost silently.

"Settle down," the man said, shutting the door behind him. However, he needn't have told the class to settle, as his presence was enough to make them stop fidgeting and talking.

His cold black eyes lingered on the two new students at the back for a second, before he started talking about OWL exams. Several times he subtly picked on students such as Harry and Neville, a boy Edward had been talking to in the common room the previous night. He was nice, if not a bit shy.

"I see we also have new students." The professor said this as a fact. He did not care much for who they were. "I expect you to produce acceptable potions today – no excuses. If some of these dimwits can do it, you should be able to."

"But professor," Hermione chimed in, "That's hardly fair. They've only just found out they possess magical abilities – you can't expect them to be able to produce the same level of work on their first day."

"That's enough, Miss Granger. I will not hear any more from you for the rest of this lesson." Turning to the two newcomers and fixating an odd stare on Edward, he said, "I shall let you off, loosely, today, but I hope that next lesson you will be of the standard I'm expecting."

The professor, Professor Snape as Edward learned from the various minds in the room, explained the potion the class would be making, and where to find the method, ingredients and supplies.

"Thanks," Edward whispered, leaning over to Hermione. She nodded, wishing to proceed with her potion.

The next hour and a half passed in silence, excluding the odd whisper from someone asking their partner to pass something to them, or maybe asking for help. Edward, not needing to pay much attention to the potion, as he was doing everything right, listened to the thoughts around the room.

Some of them were rather amusing. Girls, worrying about the fact that their hair was going frizzy from the heat. Several students fretting about how their potion was going wrong. But, just as with Professor Dumbledore, Edward couldn't get a read on Professor Snape. It was much like with Bella – there seemed to be a wall, blocking their thoughts from him. He wondered if Bella was perhaps shielding him, but why would she do that?

He didn't ponder on this for too long, however, and continued through the lesson. When the lesson was over, Edward and Bella followed people, including Hermione, heading in the general direction of the library.

The couple noticed Hermione sitting at a table on her own, so they went to sit with her.

"Oh, hi Bella, Edward. I didn't see you there. This is a very interesting book…I just sort of got lost in it. Anyway, what do you think of Hogwarts so far?" the girl said, showing a small smile.

"We love it here. It finally feels like somewhere we can fit in. It's certainly a change from the normal American curriculum," Edward spoke for the both of them, though leaving out the part about his family constantly moving from state to state.

"Well that's brilliant! I do hope you decide to stay here. I think Ron does too, he just doesn't show it because he's scared of what Harry might do. I wouldn't worry about Harry. He's going through a lot at the moment and it can't be easy having to be reminded of his dead friend every day. But that's still no excuse for his behavior. I might talk to him later…" Hermione trailed off, realising that she was probably talking too much. "We should probably get to lunch – I was meant to be meeting Harry and Ron ten minutes ago!"

The trio walked down the corridors to the Great Hall, and spotting Harry and Ron, they made their way over to the Gryffindor table. Hermione whispered something to Harry, who responded quite venomously. The two vampires blocked out the conversation, sensing that it was about them. After about five minutes, Harry and Hermione sat up and tucked into their lunch.

Harry gave Bella and Edward a small, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I've been acting like such a prat recently. You haven't done anything wrong. I just hope this hasn't messed everything up between us." The boy sounded genuinely ashamed of his actions, and the couple forgave him instantly.

**Next chapter involves Umbridge, don't know when it will be posted though. If I get more than ten reviews, however, I'll make it my priority! Don't hate me! **


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